When Licking is the Only Currency a Dog Has by Marc Ruvolo

They pray for a master that enjoys being licked.

They practice licking,

full aware a tongue is a dog's greatest asset.

They carefully monitor the slobber ratio.

They understand the art of the well-timed lick.

A tongue that does not speak is a detriment

when confounded by a world of speaking, ordering,

demanding tongues

so, it must be honed sharp, it must be relentless

in the pursuit of skin, of salt,

and on drowsy, stretching mornings

of love.

A dog’s mouth is like a human hand

in the way that both use them

to hold on to what little they can.

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Marc Ruvolo is a queer writer/musician living in Portland OR. His poems and stories have appeared in Abyss & Apex, Bewildering Stories, and via the Night’s End Horror podcast. Over the course of a thirty-five year music career, he’s released fifty-four records on over a dozen record labels. An admirer of pop culture, he’s still completely outraged at the blatant hypocrisy of the Harper Valley PTA. Twitter: @RuvFur